Fastener members and apparatus for their fabrication

ABSTRACT

A fastener for engaging loops includes a base with a field of fastener elements molded with and extending from the base. The fastener elements are constructed to engage loops of a mating loop component to form a releasable fastener. The fastener elements comprise hooks and spikes, interspersed among the hooks, which extend at an acute angle from the base. By arranging the hooks and spikes in differing directions on the base, increased shear strength is provided in corresponding directions. Molds and methods for forming the fastener are also disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to molded fastener members useful forengaging loops and the like.

[0002] In hook and loop fasteners, typically an extensive field ofmolded hooks aligned in adjacent rows on one half of the fastener, the“hook element”, engages mating loops or anchored fibers on the otherhalf of the fastener, the “loop element.”

[0003] Fastener members of a molded hook element typically areintegrally formed with the base, each including a stem extending fromthe base to a head with a crook which overhangs the base. Often the moldcavities in which the hooks are formed have no moving parts, the hookfastener elements being pulled from the mold cavities by resilientlydistorting the solidified crook portions of the hooks. For molding arunning strip of such a hook element, a rotating mold roll is employed.For discrete items, cyclable injection molding techniques are employed.Typically in either case, the mold is formed of a stacked series ofplates, with the overhanging crooks of the hooks confined to face in thedirection of the planes of the mold plates.

[0004] One characteristic of fastener components is the shear strengthof engagement between them. This refers to their ability to resistdisengagement when subjected to a force acting along the plane definedbetween the mating faces of the hook and loop elements. The shearstrength often determines the strength limit of the attachment. In manyapplications, the fastener is applied with the hook elements aligned toface in a first direction, but the shear load applied to the fastenercomponent is in a direction that is perpendicular to, or at asubstantial angle to, the direction in which the hooks face. Forexample, hook fastener components in some disposable diapers face in adirection generally parallel to a baby's waistline, yet the forces onthe fastener caused by motion of the baby's legs are substantiallyperpendicular to the waistline.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention features a fastener for engaging loops,which includes a base and a field of fastener elements molded with andextending from the base. The fastener elements are constructed to engageloops of a mating loop component to form a releasable fastener andinclude hooks which define crooks for capturing loops. Spikes areinterspersed among the hooks and extend at an acute angle from the baseto at least the height of the crooks above the base. The fastenerelements are arranged in rows, with a first set of rows comprising hooksand a second set of rows comprising spikes.

[0006] In accordance with another feature of the invention, the hooksextend in a first direction along the base, and the spikes extend in asecond direction along the base.

[0007] In accordance with another feature of the invention, the fastenerhas spikes with an engagement tip for capturing loops extending at anacute angle from the base. Latch stems are located on the base adjacentto the spikes and beneath the engagement tip to cooperate with the spiketo capture the loops.

[0008] In accordance with another feature of the invention, the fastenerhas pairs of adjacently opposed structures on the base. The pairsinclude a first structure and a second structure with an engagement tipfor capturing loops. The engagement tip has a first position locatedabove the first structure, and a second position located beneath thefirst structure.

[0009] In accordance with another feature of the present invention,there is provided a mold for producing a fastener. The mold includes aset of mold plates which have hook mold plates and spike mold plates.The hook mold plates have hook mold surfaces for producing hooks whichare molded with and extend from a base. The hooks define crooks forcapturing loops of a mating loop component. The spike mold plates havespike mold surfaces for producing spikes which extend at an acute anglefrom the base.

[0010] In accordance with another feature of the present invention,there is provided a method for forming a loop engaging fastener. Themethod includes providing a mold for the fastener which has a set ofmold plates. Hook mold plates with hook mold surfaces for producinghooks are provided, along with spike mold plates having spike moldsurfaces for producing spikes. Moldable resin is delivered to the moldsuch that the resin is forced into the mold surfaces, where it issolidified into hooks and spikes which are then removed from the mold.

[0011] Another feature shown is a mold roll for forming a fastenercomponent, the mold roll having mold cavities open to the outer surfaceof the roll for forming a field of fastener elements supported by abase, by application of moldable resin under pressure against the outersurface of the mold roll in the manner to fill the cavities open to theouter surface and to form the base on the outer surface of the moldroll, characterized in that the mold roll comprises an outer mold ringplaced over an inner mold ring, the outer mold ring having a set of moldcavities that extend from its outer surface to its inner surface and theinner mold ring having mold cavities aligned with respective moldcavities in the outer ring, whereby moldable resin on the outer surfaceof the mold roll can flow from the mold cavities of the outer ring intothe mold cavities of the inner ring, the cavities of both ringsconstructed to cooperate to form the fastener elements. A method offorming a fastener component employing this mold roll comprisescontinuously applying moldable resin under pressure to the outer surfaceof the roll as the roll is turned, preferably in which a nip is formedbetween the mold roll and a pressure roll and molten resin is introducedinto the nip as the rolls counter-rotate, or in which an extruder nozzleextrudes molten resin under pressure against the surface of the moldroll as the roll turns.

[0012] In preferred embodiments of these features the mold roll or themethod form fastener elements that have outer end portions shaped toengage fastener loops.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 illustrates a process for molding a loop engaging fastener.

[0014]FIG. 1A illustrates a loop engaging fastener taken along line1A-1A of FIG. 1.

[0015]FIG. 1B is an enlarged side view of isolated area 1B of FIG. 1.

[0016]FIG. 2A illustrates a hook element.

[0017]FIG. 2B illustrates a re-entrant hook element.

[0018]FIG. 3A illustrates the molding plates which are used to form thehook and spike fastening elements.

[0019] FIGS. 3B-3D are end, side, and top views respectively of aportion of a spike-molding plate.

[0020]FIG. 3E illustrates a spike fastening element molded from the moldplates of FIGS. 3A-3D.

[0021]FIG. 4 illustrates a plan view of an alternative embodiment of theloop engaging fastener.

[0022]FIG. 5 illustrates a plan view of the loop engaging fastener.

[0023]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 5.

[0024]FIG. 7 illustrates a fastener component engaging a matingcomponent.

[0025]FIG. 8 illustrates a side view of a hook formation.

[0026]FIG. 9 illustrates an individual spike fastening element.

[0027]FIG. 10 illustrates an enlarged view of isolated area Y of FIG. 9.

[0028]FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative design for the spike fasteningelement.

[0029]FIG. 12 illustrates the molding rings which are used to form thecross machine fastening element of FIG. 11.

[0030] FIGS. 13A-13D illustrate end, top, and side views of analternative molding plate design to form the spike fastening element ofFIG. 11.

[0031] FIGS. 14A-14C illustrates a latch type fastener element.

[0032] FIGS. 14D-14E illustrate a snap-type fastener.

[0033]FIG. 15 illustrates molding rings which are used to form latchtype fasteners.

[0034]FIG. 16 illustrates an alternative molding plate design to formlatch type fasteners.

[0035]FIG. 17 illustrates a latch type fastener formed from the moldingplate of FIG. 16.

[0036]FIG. 18 illustrates a plan view of an alternative arrangement ofspike fasteners in combination with hook fasteners.

[0037]FIG. 19 illustrates an end,view of an alternative arrangementtaken along line Q-Q of FIG. 18.

[0038]FIG. 20 illustrates a plan view of an alternative spike fastenerin combination with hook fasteners

[0039]FIG. 21 illustrates an end view of the alternative spike fastenertaken along line N-N of FIG. 20.

[0040] FIGS. 22A-22B illustrates end and top views of molding platedesigns to form the spike element of FIG. 21.

[0041]FIGS. 23A and 23B illustrate a post-forming process to producespike elements with flattened tops.

DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] Referring to FIG. 1, a loop-engaging fastener component 10 in theform of a continuous strip is molded in a continuous process usingprinciples of the Fischer process U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,028, for example.

[0043] Fastener components with combined arrangements of hook and spikeelements are molded by use of a set of stacked parallel plates in whichedge formations in selected plates define the hook fastener elements andholes extending inwardly from the exposed edge surface of selectedplates provide cavities for molding the spike elements. The angles ofthe axes of the holes relative to the surface of the roll are selectablefor the desired application. The combination of fastener elementsenables the fastener component 10 to provide loop engaging shearstrength in selected directions depending upon the selected orientationof the respective elements.

[0044] Using a continuous process, mold cavities for rows of hookfastener elements and spike elements are formed in the peripheries ofcorresponding disk-form mold plates of a mold roll. Molten resin iscontinuously extruded and applied with pressure against the cooled moldroll which has mold cavities about its periphery that are configured toproduce fastener elements, as described. In one form of the Fischerprocess, as shown in FIG. 1, the molten resin from extruder 113 iscontinuously extruded into a nip formed between cooled mold roll 112 andpressure roll 114. A supply bank 115 of molten resin is thus formedwhich, under pressure of the nip, is forced into the hook and spikecavities and also between the rolls, to form a sheet-form base that isintegral with the molded fastener formations. After cooling while on theroll, the continuous sheet form fastener component or tape is strippedfrom the mold roll.

[0045] When desired to make the height of the molded fastener elementsmore uniform or otherwise to reconfigure the molded elements, the moldedtape 121 is passed between a wrap-around roller 120 and a knock-downroller 122 while the fastener elements are still soft and permanentlydeformable. Roller 122 pushes any higher elements down to a uniform,desired pre-established height. In other instances the knock-down rolleris heated to a level sufficient to enable it to reform, bythermoforming, the engaged portion of the molded elements to providefurther characteristics to the end product. As suggested by thecomponents illustrated in dashed lines, in some instances a sheet 116,such as a woven or non-woven fabric, is supplied from a roll 118 to thenip, such that the resulting hook component includes fastener elementswhich are intimately joined to sheet 116 in what is termed an in situlaminating process. This sheet contains loops adapted to serve as a loopcomponent to engage the fastener elements.

[0046] In an adaptation of the Fischer process, an extruder nozzleextrudes resin under pressure against the roll surface, with extensionsof the nozzle surface that conform to roll 112 serving to keep theextruded resin at sufficient pressure to fill mold cavities 110 withresin. In another example, the moldable resin is delivered to mold roll112 and, after traveling along the surface of the mold roll, the resinis pressed into the mold cavities using a pressure roller.

[0047] Moldable resin may also be injected into mold cavities to formthe fastener elements by injection molding, to either form the fastenerelements as discrete devices, or on a rigid backing constructed to beattached to a separate product. Injection molding is also employed toform the hook and spike fastener elements integrally with a productbeing molded, such that the fastener elements do not need to besubsequently attached to the product.

[0048] In some instances stems and spikes are integrally molded with abase and subsequently deformed to complete the formation ofloop-engageable fastener elements.

[0049] The moldable resin may be any suitable plastic material dependingon the intended fastener application. Currently, polypropylene ispreferred. Nylon, polyesters, polyethylene, propylene, ethylene andcopolymers thereof, as well as other thermoplastic and thermosettingresins may also be readily employed.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a molded fastener forengaging loops viewed along line 1A-1A of FIG. 1. The fastener comprisesa base 12 and a field of fastener elements 14 molded with and extendingfrom the base 12. The fastener elements are constructed and formed insuch a manner as herein described to engage loops of a mating loopcomponent to form a releasable fastener. The field of fastener elements14 includes hook fastener elements 15 defining crooks 17 for capturingloops which are located at a given height C above the base 12. Spikes 16are interspersed among the hooks 15 and extend at an acute angle fromthe base 12 to at least the height C of the crooks 17 above the base.

[0051] As can be seen in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 5, the hook fastener elements15 and spike fastener elements 16 are arranged to face in differingdirections along the base 12. The fastener elements of each type lie inlongitudinal rows 18 extending in the machine direction with a first setof rows 19 of hook fastener elements 15 interleaved with a second set ofrows 20 of spike fastener elements 16. The individual hook fastenerelements 15 of rows 19 extend in a first direction along the base 12 andthe individual spike fastener elements 16 of rows 20 extend in a seconddirection along the base 12, thereby defining between the first andsecond directions an angle of at least 10 degrees, and preferablyapproximately 90 degrees.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 2A, the term “hook” describes elements 2 a witha head 2 which overhangs a base 3 from a stem 4 and which has a crook 5for capturing loops. A “crook” is defined by the lower surface 6 of thehead 2 which is tangent to a plane (P-P) parallel to the base 3. Asshown in FIG. 2B, one type of hook is a re-entrant hook 2 b. The term“re-entrant” means that the crook 5 defines a loop capturing area 7enclosed on one side by the engagement tip 8 and on another side by thestem 4 of the hook 2 b. A “spike” is distinguished from a “hook” becausea spike does not have a lower surface which is tangent to a planeparallel to the base.

[0053]FIG. 3A shows a set of mold plates 150 a-e for producing themolded fastener. The mold plates 150 have first and second types of moldsurfaces 152 and 154 which define first and second types of cavities 156and 158, respectively, for producing hook and spike fastener elements.Any hook design is useful in combination with the spikes. Preferably,mold plates 150 a, 150 b and 150 e each have half-hook formations 170which are used to create the crook shape of the hook fasteners. A pairof mold plates, such as 150 a and 150 b, cooperate to form entire hookcavity 153 from the combination of their respective half-hook cavities157 a and 157 b. In this manner, it can be seen that a pair of moldplates such as 150 a and 150 b create a single row of hook fasteners onthe molded base 12. Hook cavities 156 are readily formed by any of thetraditional methods known in the art, such as laser machining,electro-discharge machining, drilling, milling, through-cutting, orphoto-chemical etching.

[0054] Spike mold plates 150 c and 150 d each have a configuration ofmold surfaces 154 which define spike-form cavities 158. It is preferredthat spike form cavities 158 be elongated and approximately conical withan oblong cross-section in a plane parallel to the surface 180 with amajor axis perpendicular to the rows of cavities to provide good spikebending strength in this cross-machine plane. Cavities 158 extend intothe surface 180 of mold plates 150 c or 150 d at an angle ofapproximately 30 to 60 degrees.

[0055] Referring to FIGS. 3B, 3C and 3D, end, side and top viewsrespectively of spike mold plate 150 c are shown in isolation. Thecavity 158 extends into the surface 180 of the mold plates 150 at anangle α. The oblong opening 160 of the cavity has a major axis ‘j’ andminor axis ‘k.’ By designing the mold 150 so that spike-forming cavities158 extend in a direction which is non-parallel to the hook mold cavity156, hybrid fastener elements with good cross-machine loadingcapabilities and shear strength are produced.

[0056] In one example, cavities 158 have elliptical openings 160 ofapproximately 0.010 inch along their major axes, j and approximately0.007 inch along their minor axes, k. From the opening, the cavity 158extends approximately 0.020 inches into mold 150.

[0057] The spike-forming cavities 158 can be formed by a variety ofmethods, such as laser machining, electro-discharge machining, ordrilling with a shaped bit. In order to create spike cavities 158 in anindividual mold plate 150 c, the mold plate 150 c is placed on anindexer which is then set at a desired angle to the direction of thechosen forming tool. The plate 150 c is then drilled through by the toolto a predetermined depth to produce cavities 158. By drilling at anangle, this tends to produce an elliptical opening 160 at the surface180 of the mold plate. Once an individual cavity is formed, the moldplate is indexed to the next desired cavity location and the formingprocess is repeated.

[0058] Electro-discharge machining (EDM) is an alternative method offorming the cavities 158. With EDM, an arc is formed between theelectrode of the tool and the metal surface 180 of the mold plate 150 c.The arc heats the metal and the electrode advances into the metalsurface to form a cavity of desired depth. Preferably, the electrode hasa diameter smaller than the desired cross-section of a cavity 158, sincemetal surrounding the electrode will vaporize during the process.

[0059]FIG. 3E illustrates a resulting integrally molded spike fastenerelement which has been removed from cavity 158 after formation. Thespike fastener element 16 generally has the shape of cavity 158 of FIG.3A, forming an angle α, between the center axis 32 of the spike 16 andthe base 12 of thickness ‘t’. The spike 16 has a spike foundation ofwidth Z.

[0060] In FIG. 4, in an alternative embodiment 30, the hybrid fastenerincludes a series of parallel rows 18 where some of the rows includemore than one type of fastening element. For example, row 25 a in FIG. 4includes a hook fastener element 15 adjacent to a spike fastener element16.

[0061] The hybrid fastener 10 is described with reference to the planview of FIG. 5, and the end view of FIGS. 6 and 7 where the fastenerelement is viewed along line X-X of FIG. 5. In these views, the thin,flexible base 12 is shown with hook fasteners 15 and spike fasteners 16extending from a common surface 34 of the base 12. As shown in FIG. 7,the hook fastening element 15 extends to engage a corresponding wovenmating component 42 through individual loops 44. It is preferable tohave the hook fastener element 15 extend in a first direction to engagea loop 44 of the mating component 42 and the spike fastener element 16extend in a second direction in non-parallel relation to the firstdirection to engage the loop 46 of a mating component 42. It ispreferred that spike fastener 16 extends in substantial perpendicularrelation to the hook fastener 15 in order to maximize cross-machinedirection engagement and shear strength.

[0062] In FIGS. 6 and 7, hook and spike forms of fastener elements areshown as an individual hook formation 38 and an individual spikeformation 40. Individual hook 38 has a height of distance A from thesurface 34 of base member 12 to the top 39 of the hook 38 and a heightof C from surface 34 to the crook 17. Preferably, the spike fastener 16extends from a foundation at the base surface 34 at an acute angle toconclude with a distal tip 41. The spike fastener 16 preferably extendsfrom the surface 34 at an angle α of 30 to 60 degrees and at a length Bso that the distal tip 41 is at a height from the surface 34 of at leastC and preferably at a height of approximate equal distance from thesurface 34 as the height A of the hook fastener 15.

[0063] In this manner, when mating component 42 engages with base 12,individual loops and fibers 44 and 46 of the woven mating component 42are engaged by the combination and multitude of fastener elements on agiven base 12. Since the fastener elements 15 and 16 are of differentvarieties, and preferably in different angular relationship to eachother, the number of overall engagements with loops or fibers, 44 or 46,and the directions of the engagements increases. By having a multitudeof multi-directional engagements, the shear strength of thefastener-mating component interconnection is increased. This creates astronger bond between the mating component 42 and the base 12 which isless subject to disengagement when forces are applied to the fastener 10in a direction which is not parallel to the direction of the plane ofthe molding plates.

[0064] The base 12 of the present invention 10 is made from a variety ofmaterials and in a variety of methods. Among the many materials whichare used for the base 12 include plastics, films, woven materials,metals, composites, etc. Preferably, the base member is of a thin,flexible material, such as a thin plastic film.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a side view of a twodirectional hook formation which is used with the present invention.Preferably, the hook formation is integrally formed with the base 12 andincludes a stem 90 standing up from the base 12 and concludes with ahead 91 which defines a multiple loop capturing crook 92 for capturingloops. The crook 92 is attached to the stem 90 and preferably curvesback towards the base 12.

[0066] While only a few rows of fastener elements are shown in FIG. 5,this is to be understood as for illustration purposes only and that loopengaging fastener 10 may have any number of rows. The fastener elementsin alternative parallel rows 27 a and 27 d may face in oppositedirections. Alternatively, the hook fastener element may face in thesame direction or have other orientations. Fastener elements of the hooktype 15 preferably have a thickness of about 0.030 inches, and adjacentparallel rows of fastener elements 27 a and 27 b are separated by adistance W of about 1.5 times the thickness of a hook fastener. Adjacenthook fastener elements in the same row are preferably spaced along therow at a distance of 2-5 times the thickness of one of the hook fastenerelements, such that the head of a hook fastener element will not contacta back surface of a second adjacent element in the same row when thestem of a given element is deflected downward by a vertical load. In apreferred embodiment, there are about 10-30 hook fastener elements 15per lineal inch in each row.

[0067] Preferably, adjacent rows 27 b and 27 c of spike formations 16are separated by a distance of about 0.005 inch to 0.050 inch. Adjacentspike formations 16 within a row are preferably spaced along the row ata distance of 0.5 to 1 times the base width Z of one of the spikeformations 40, so that preferably the spike formations 16 outnumber thehook formations 15. In a preferred embodiment there are about 10 to 100spike formations 16 per lineal inch in a uniform row of spike fastenerelements 16.

[0068] Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, various possible embodiments of thespike formations 16 are shown. In FIG. 9, an individual spike 40, whichis integrally formed to base 12, has a foundation 54 on the surface 34of the base 12. From the foundation 54, a stem 52 extends a distance ofB and at an angle of α in relation to the surface 34 of the base 12 andthe central axis 32 of the spike 40. The stem 52 concludes with a distaltip 41 which has a radius of R. FIG. 10 is an expanded view of area Y ofFIG. 9 which illustrates the tip radius and hence “sharpness” of thespike 40 of approximately 0.002 inch to 0.020 inch. The tip radius ispreferably between 20 and 50 percent of the width of the foundation 54.In a preferred embodiment, the spike 40 tapers from a radius of 0.002inch at the tip 41 to a radius of approximately 0.005 inch at the spikefoundation 54 over a stem length of approximately 0.020 inches with anangle of α between approximately 30 to 60 degrees.

[0069]FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the spike formation 16 of thepresent invention 10. In this embodiment, the individual spike 40 is abent spike 57 which has a base portion 58 integrally molded with andextending from the base 12 at a first angle α, between the center axisof the spike 40 and the surface 34 of the base 12. The base portion 58extends to a distal end 61. Further, the bent spike 57 has a tip portion60 integrally molded with and extending from the distal end 61 of thebase portion 58. Preferably, the tip portion 60 extends at a secondangle α, in relation to the surface 34 and the center axis of the tipportion 60.

[0070] Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the methods of manufacturing bentspike formations 57 are described in detail. In one method, bent spikeformations 57 are formed by a mold roll 200 comprising a pair of moldingrings the first of which is placed over the other. The first, outermolding ring 202 has a first set of mold cavities 204 extending throughthe first mold ring 202 at a first angle α₁. An individual base portionmold cavity 206 includes an opening 208 located on a first surface 214,a channel 210, and a second opening 212 located on a second surface 216.The spike base portion mold cavity 206 is formed in the first moldingring 202 through various methods known in the art and previouslydescribed herein, such as laser machining, drills, or electro-dischargemachining. By applying moldable resin of desired material with pressureagainst the surface 214 of the mold roll 200 in a usual way to form thefastener, the desired material enter the mold cavity 206, the baseportion 58 of bent spike formation 57 is created.

[0071] The first mold ring 202 lies over a second mold ring 220 tointegrally mold a tip portion 60 with a spike base portion 58. Thesecond mold ring 220 has a second set of mold cavities 222 which arealigned with the first set of mold cavities 204 of the first moldingring 202. An individual mold cavity 225 of the second mold ring 220 hasan opening 226 located on one surface 224 and cavity section 228extending into the second mold plate 220 at second angle α₂. Opening 226aligns with opening 212 of spike base mold cavity 206, thereby allowingmaterial to flow from the spike base mold cavity 206 into the tipportion mold cavity 225 to form the integrally connected tip portion 60of the bent spike formation 57. Cavities 222 of the second mold ring 220are formed by methods previously described herein.

[0072] In FIGS. 13A-13D, a second method of forming bent spikeformations 57 by the use of side-by-side molding plates 300 is shown. InFIG. 13A, end views of a spike base portion molding plate 302 and a tipportion molding plate 304 illustrate the spike base mold surface 306 andthe tip mold surface 308 for integrally molding a bent spike element 57.These side-by-side plates 300 can be utilized with the Fischer process,described earlier herein.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 13B, which is a top view of molding plates 300along line 310-310 of FIG. 13A, spike base portion molding plate 302 hasa top surface 310 with an opening 312 defined by mold surface 306. Themold surface 306 extends from the opening 312 at an angle to the sidesurface 314 of spike base molding plate 302, thereby forming a channelwithin the plate.

[0074] Viewing the plate 302 along line 13C-13C of FIG. 13A, the sidesurface 314 and side opening 316 are shown in FIG. 13C. From the sideopening 316, molten resin flows into the tip portion molding plate 304during application of the Fischer process. The tip portion molding plate304 has an opening 322 on side surface 320. From the opening 322, thetip portion mold surface 308 extends into the tip mold plate 304. Thisis illustrated by the end view of the mold plate in FIG. 13A and theside view of the mold plate in FIG. 13D taken along line 13D-13D of FIG.13A.

[0075] Fastener elements on the base can include pairs of adjacentlyopposed structures. The pairs include a first structure having anengagement tip for capturing loops and a second structure located atleast partially beneath the engagement tip. The first and secondstructures cooperate to capture loops of a mating component. Thesefastener elements include “latch-type” and “snap-latch” fasteners.

[0076] Referring to FIGS. 14A-14C, and 17, there are shown “latch type”fastener elements which can be used in combination with hook fasteners.As seen in FIG. 14A, the spike fastener of FIG. 9 or FIG. 11 is formedadjacent to and with its engagement tip 60 located above a shorter latchstem 268, which also extends from the base 12. The latch stem 268creates a stronger disengagement force and higher peel strength by thespike fastener for removal of a loop 46 of a woven fastener 42. Thelatch stem 268 preferably includes an outer surface 270 which is slopedtoward the engagement tip 60 of the spike 57. The sloped outer surface270 assists in directing a loop 46 to be captured by the spike 57 as theloop 46 contacts the sloped surface 270. The loop 46 is biased away fromthe spike 57 at the loop apex 274 by the stem 268, and toward the spike57 at its opening 276. The spike stem 268 preferably has a straight orinwardly sloped surface 272 which “traps” or “latches” a loop 46 oncethe loop 46 slides between the engagement tip 60 and the stem 268. Thisis illustrated in FIG. 17, where a loop 46 has been captured byengagement tip 60 of a spike fastener 57 and has slid down the spikebeyond a latch stem 362. The loop 46 becomes trapped by the spike 57 andinner surface 368 of latch stem 362. In this manner, the disengagementforce required to release loop 46 is increased over the force necessaryfor engagement, as the latch stem 362, latch stem tip 364, and innersurface 368 prevent the loop 46 from easily sliding off of spike 57.Latch stems 362 have a height of preferably one half the height of thespike fastener and are preferably located from spike fasteners 1 to 1.5times the base width Z of a spike fastener 57. Other possible shapes anddesigns for latch stems 362 can include, but are not limited to, hooksand spikes.

[0077]FIG. 14B illustrates another embodiment of a pair of opposingstructures 280 extending from a base 12 which cooperate to capture aloop 46 of a mating component. The first structure is a hook 15 and thesecond, opposing structure is a latch stem 268, positioned adjacent tothe hook 15 and at least partially beneath its head 2. The latch stem268 illustrated in FIG. 14B includes a sloped surface 270 exterior tothe loop capturing area 281 between the pair of opposing structures 280.The loop capturing area 281 is defined by hook 15, base 12, and innersurface 282 of latch stem 268. Further, the inner surface 282 of thelatch stem 268 is perpendicular to the base 34 in this illustration,although other angular relationships between surface 282 and base 12 arepossible.

[0078]FIG. 14C illustrates an embodiment where the pair of opposingstructures includes a spike 16 with a distal end 41 and a hook shapedlatch stem 268 located adjacent to spike 16. Latch stem 268 has itscrook 17 facing the spike 16 and positioned at least partially beneathdistal end 41. Together, spike 16 and latch stem 268 cooperate tocapture a loop 46 and increase the disengagement force required for loop46 to become “untrapped”. When an attempt is made to disengage loop 46from spike 16, loop 46 is captured by hook latch stem 268. Release ofthe loop 46 from the spike 16 and latch stem 268 is accomplished only bythe application of sufficient forces at proper angles. These forces andangles vary according to the distance between the adjacent opposingstructures, 16 and 268, as well as the deformation of the materials andshapes involved.

[0079] Latch type fasteners of FIG. 14A are formed by modifying thedesign of the stacked ring molds of FIG. 12 as seen in FIG. 15. The topring 202 can include a mold surface 260 which extends from an opening262 substantially into the ring 202 and adjacent to spike cavity 206.Similarly, as shown in FIG. 16, a latch type fastener can be formed bymodifying the side-by-side mold plates of FIG. 13. In this design, anangled mold surface 360 can be formed in mold plate 304 adjacent tospike mold surface 306 to create a latch stem 362. The mold surface 360is easily accessible for cleaning purposes. This forms the latch typefastener illustrated in FIG. 17.

[0080] Referring to FIGS. 14D and 14E, there are shown snap typefastener elements for use with the present invention. Snap fastenerelements include pairs of adjacently opposed structures 291 and 293which extend from base 12. These pairs of structures cooperate tocapture loops 46 of mating fastener components and increase thedisengagement force required to remove loop 46 from the fastenercombination of elements 291 and 293. These snap fasteners have a firstposition shown in FIG. 14D where individual fasteners 291 and 293 arenot in contact with each other. In this open position 290, the fastener291 and 293 receives or disengages a loop 46. The first structure 291extends from base 12 and concludes with a tip 292. First structure 291can be any shape which is capable of receiving a second element 293,with such shapes including hooks, spikes, and latch stem elementsalready described herein. The second structure 293 extends from base 12and concludes with tip 294, which extends a height above the surface 34of base 12 greater than the height of tip 292 above base 12. In thismanner, the tip 294 of second structure 293 is in a position to receivea loop 46 of a mating component during contact of base fastener 12 withmating fastener 42. As a force is applied to base 12 and mating fastener42, the engagement force bends the second structure 293 with loop 46 tobe captured by first structure 291. The second structure 293 is lockedinto place beneath first structure 291 by deflecting the engagement tip294 of second structure 293 downward into a second position beneathfirst structure 291. This is illustrated in FIG. 14E where theengagement tip 294 of second structure 293 snaps into a second position296 beneath first structure 291. The lower surface 297 of firststructure 291 creates a locking surface with the outer surface 298 ofthe second structure 293 to form a “closed” fastener. Loop 46 is,therefore, captured by the interlocked first and second structures 291and 293 so that the loop 46 does not slide off or disengage fromindividual fastener 293.

[0081] The captured loop 46 is released from the closed or engagedposition of 296 of FIG. 14E when forces are applied to the fastenerelements to pull the second structure 293 back to its original openposition of FIG. 14D. Once the combination is snapped open, the loop 46is capable of sliding off and disengaging from second structure 293.Snap-latch fasteners of this type give higher peel strength and requirehigher disengagement forces to remove loops 46 and fastener 42 from thelocked position. Snap-fasteners are used in a variety of situationswhere high peel strength is a desired feature, such as ceiling tiles,picture frames, and other high strength applications.

[0082] Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, there are shown plan and end views,respectively, of an alternative arrangement of the spike fastenerelements 16 in combination with hook fasteners. In this embodiment, row100 of spike fastener elements 16 has adjacent individual fastenerelements, such as 104 and 106, which extend from the base 12 in oppositedirections. With M serving as a midpoint between two adjacent rows ofhook fasteners 124 and 126 it is shown that spike fastener 104 has anelongated stem 107 and distal tip 108 which extends from the base 12,toward row 126 of hook fasteners and away from row 124 of hookfasteners.

[0083] Conversely, spike fastener 106 has an elongated stem 105 anddistal tip 109 which extends in the opposite direction from base 12 asspike fastener 104. The engagement tip 109 points toward row 124 of hookfasteners and away from row 126 of hook fasteners. Preferably, theadjacent spike fasteners 104 and 106 have elongated stems 107 and 105,respectively, crisscrossing each other to form an “X-configuration” ofspike fasteners when viewed along line Q-Q of FIG. 18.

[0084] Referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, there are shown plan and end views,respectively of an alternative arrangement of crisscrossed spikefasteners in combination with hook fasteners 15. In this embodiment, row400 of spike fastener elements 16 are formed from individual fastenershaving two or more spikes 402 and 404 which extend from a common base406. As seen in FIG. 21, which is a view along line N-N of FIG. 20,spike 402 has an elongated end 408 with distal tip 412 extending towardrow 124 of hook fasteners 15. Likewise, spike 404 has an elongated end410 with distal tip 414 extending in the opposite direction of spike 402and toward row 126 of hook fasteners 15.

[0085] In order to form crisscrossed spike fasteners with a common base406, the fasteners are fabricated using the molding plates illustratedin FIGS. 22A and 22B. FIG. 22A shows an end view of a pair of moldingplates 440 which are used to form a crisscross spike fastener. FIG. 22Bis a top view of FIG. 22A taken along line 22B-22B. Mold plates 442 and444 each have respective mold surfaces 446 and 454 which definerespective halves of mold cavity 441. Mold plate 442 has mold surface446 which includes an upper area 448 and an extended lower area 450which intersects the upper area 448 at junction edge 452. Similarly,mold plate 444 has mold surface 454 with an upper area 456 and anextended lower area 458 which intersects upper area 456 at junction edge460. The lower area 458 preferably extends through the side edge ofplate 444 at a through hole 459.

[0086] Mold surfaces 446 and 454 are preferably formed by laserdrilling. The following description will be made with reference to moldplate 442 and mold surface 446, although those in the art willappreciate a similar description applies to mold plate 444. Upper area448 of mold surface 446 is formed by drilling the top surface of moldplate 442 at an angle with a laser to create opening 449 and removematerial from the mold plate 442. The mold plate 442 is then laserdrilled at an angle in an opposite direction, preferably at the point453 where the upper area 448 intersects the side edge 455 of the moldplate 442. This creates the lower area 450 of the mold surface 446 whichextends away from edge 455 and also creates a junction edge 452 at theintersection with the upper mold surface area 448. Preferably, the lowerarea 450 is drilled through the side edge of the plate to create athrough-hole 451. This allows easy access to the mold surface 446 forcleaning purposes. Through hole 459 provides similar cleaning access formold plate 444. Cleaning of the mold surfaces 456 and 454 can therefore,be accomplished by poking through the holes 451 and 459 from theexterior of the mold plates.

[0087] Similar laser drilling of mold plate 444 forms the other half ofmold cavity 441. Alignment of lower area 458 of mold plate 444 ispreferably made with upper area 448 of mold plate 442. Likewise, upperarea 456 of mold plate 444 is preferably aligned with lower area 450 ofmold plate 442. Together, mold surfaces 446 and 454 cooperate to definemold cavity 441 which can be used with adaptations of the Fischerprocess described herein.

[0088] Referring to FIGS. 23A and 23B, there is shown an example ofspike elements which undergo a post-forming thermo-mechanical process toproduce flattened engagement tops. In a typical production run, somespike fastener elements 16 are produced, such as spikes 130 and 132,which have distal tips 134 and 136 that extend a distance D above adesired pre-established height A for the fastener elements. It ispreferably desired to have all fastener elements, i.e., both hooks andspikes, be of approximate equal height for uniformity of engagement witha woven mating component in a given engagement plane. This allows theshear strength of the fastener-mating component engagement to beunidirectional.

[0089] In order to reduce distal tips 134 and 136 down to a heightapproximately equal to height A, the base sheet 12 with spike fasteners130 and 132 are passed beneath a heated roll, such as roll 122 of FIG.1, to deform the tops of the fasteners 130 and 132. This produces spikefastener element 130 with flattened top 138 and spike fastener element132 with flattened top 140.

[0090] Many modifications and variations in the preferred embodimentswill undoubtedly occur to those versed in the art, as will various otherfeatures and advantages not specifically enumerated, all of which may beachieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

1. A fastener for engaging loops, the fastener comprising: a base (12);and a field of fastener elements (14) molded with and extending fromsaid base (12), said fastener elements constructed to engage loops of amating loop component to form a releasable fastener, characterized inthat said fastener elements include: hooks (15) defining crooks (17) forcapturing loops; and spikes (16) interspersed among and separate fromthe hooks (15), said spikes extending at an acute angle from the base(12).
 2. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said hooks (15) extend in afirst direction along the base and said spikes (16) extend in a seconddirection along the base.
 3. The fastener of claim 1 or 2 wherein saidfasteners are arranged in rows (18); a first set of said rows (19)comprising said hooks (15); and a second set of said rows (20)comprising said spikes (16).
 4. The fastener of claim 2 wherein saidfirst and second directions define therebetween an angle of at least 10degrees.
 5. The fastener of claim 4 wherein said angle is at least 30degrees.
 6. The fastener of claim 5 wherein said angle is approximately90 degrees.
 7. The fastener of claim 1 or 2 wherein said spikes (16) aregenerally conical.
 8. The fastener of claim 1 or 2 wherein said spikes(16) have a central axis, and extend from said base at an angle ofbetween about 30 and 60 degrees with respect to said central axis andsaid base (12).
 9. The fastener of claim 1 or 2 wherein said spikes (16)have a foundation (54) and a distal tip (41) with a tip radius ofbetween 20 and 50% of the width of said foundation.
 10. The fastener ofclaim 1 or 2 wherein said spikes (16) outnumber said hooks (15).
 11. Thefastener of claim 1 or 2 wherein said spikes (16) have a base portion(58) integrally molded with and extending from said base to a distal end(61); and a tip portion (60) integrally molded with and extending fromthe distal end (61) of said base portion (58).
 12. The fastener of claim11 wherein said base portion (58) extends from said base (12) at a firstangle, and said tip portion (60) extends from said distal end (61) at asecond angle.
 13. The fastener of claim 3 wherein said hooks (15) havingsaid crooks (17) are positioned in a direction parallel to said firstset of rows (19); and said spikes (16) are positioned in a directiontransverse to said second set of rows (20).
 14. The fastener of claim 1or 2 wherein said hooks each have a single loop capturing crook (17).15. The fastener of claim 1 or 2 wherein said hooks each have multipleloop-capturing crooks (92).
 16. The fastener of any of the above claimswherein said crooks (17) are located at a height above the base (12) andsaid spikes (16) extend to at least the height of the crooks (17) abovethe base (12).
 17. A fastener for engaging loops, the fastenercomprising: a base (12); and a field of fastener elements (14) moldedwith and extending from said base (12), said fastener elementsconstructed to engage loops of a mating loop component to form areleasable fastener, characterized in that said fastener elementsinclude: latch stems (268); and opposing elements interspersed among andseparate from the latch stems (268), said opposing elements extending atan acute angle from the base (12); wherein said opposing elements havean engagement tip for capturing loops and said latch stems are locatedon said base adjacent to said spikes and beneath said engagement tip,said latch stems cooperating with said opposing elements to capture saidloops.
 18. The fastener of claim 17 wherein said opposing elementscomprise spikes (16).
 19. The fastener of claim 17 wherein said opposingelements comprise hooks (15).
 20. The fastener of claim 18 wherein saidengagement tip (60) is movable between a first position located abovethe adjacent spike and a second position located beneath said adjacentspike.
 21. A mold for producing the fastener of claim 1, the moldcomprising: a set of molding structures having molding surfaces, saidset of molding structures having: hook mold structures (150 a, 150 b)with hook mold surfaces (152) for producing said hooks and spike moldstructures (150 c, 150 d) with spike mold surfaces (154) for producingsaid spikes.
 22. The mold of claim 21 wherein said set of moldingstructures comprises a set of mold rings, said set of mold ringsincluding a first mold ring having hook mold surfaces and a second moldring having spike mold surfaces.
 23. The mold of claim 21 wherein saidhook mold surfaces produce hooks which extend in a first direction alongthe base and said spike mold surfaces produce spikes which extend in asecond direction along the base.
 24. The mold of claim 23 wherein saidfirst and second directions define therebetween an angle of at least 10degrees.
 25. The mold of claim 21 wherein said spike mold structure hasan exterior surface, and said spike mold surface extends into said spikemold structure at an angle of between about 30 to 60 degrees withrespect to said exterior surface.
 26. A method for forming a loopengaging fastener of claim 1 comprising: providing a mold according toclaim 21; delivering moldable resin to said mold such that the resin isforced into said mold surfaces; solidifying said resin in said moldsurfaces to form said hooks and said spikes; and removing said hooks andsaid spikes from said mold surface.
 27. (New) A mold roll (112) forforming a fastener component, the mold roll having mold cavities open tothe outer surface of the roll for forming a field of fastener elementssupported by a base, by application of moldable resin under pressureagainst the outer surface of the mold roll in the manner to fill thecavities open to the outer surface and to form the base on the outersurface of the mold roll (112), characterized in that the mold rollcomprises an outer mold ring (202) placed over an inner mold ring (224),the outer mold ring having a set of mold cavities (204) that extend fromits outer surface to its inner surface, and the inner mold ring havingmold cavities (222) aligned with respective mold cavities in the outerring, whereby moldable resin on the outer surface of the mold roll canflow from the mold cavities of the outer ring into the mold cavities ofthe inner ring, the cavities of both rings constructed to cooperate toform the fastener elements.
 28. (New) A method of forming a fastenercomponent employing the mold roll of claim 27 comprising continuouslyapplying moldable resin under pressure to the outer surface of the rollas the roll is turned, preferably in which a nip is formed between themold roll and a pressure roll and molten resin is introduced into thenip as the rolls counter-rotate, or in which an extruder nozzle extrudesmolten resin under pressure against the outer surface of the mold rollas the roll turns.
 29. (New) The mold roll of claim 27 or the method ofclaim 28 in which the fastener elements have outer end portions shapedto engage fastener loops.